I've got a Rachel's Random Resources Blog Blitz for you today which means you not only get to read my review of The Faerie Tree by Jane Cable, there's also a fabulous giveaway! Scroll to the end of my post to enter. Good luck!
HOW CAN A MEMORY SO VIVID BE WRONG?
In the summer of 1986 Robin and Izzie
hold hands under The Faerie Tree and wish for a future together. Within hours
tragedy rips their dreams apart.
In the winter of 2006, each carrying
their own burden of grief, they stumble back into each other’s lives and try to
create a second chance. But why are their memories of 1986 so different? And
which one of them is right?
With strong themes of memory, love and
grief, The
Faerie Tree is a novel as
gripping and unputdownable as Jane Cable's first book, The Cheesemaker’s
House, which won the
Suspense & Crime category of The Alan Titchmarsh Shows Peoples Novelist
competition. It is a story that will resonate with fans of romance, suspense,
and folklore.
What did I think?
The Faerie Tree is quite an unusual book; officially in the romantic fiction genre, Jane Cable writes a story that is so very true to life, warts and all. Dark in places but uplifting in others, it touches on grief and mental health among many other subjects you would come across in your life. The book is very much the story of Robin and Izzie from their first meeting, full of hope and excitement for the future, to meeting each other again 20 years later when Izzie is a young widow.
A Faerie Tree |
Robin and Izzie finding each other again feels very much like fate, or perhaps the magic of the faerie tree where they once made a wish. The faerie tree itself is such a magical idea; a lone hawthorn tree growing in a field is said to be a gateway between the human world and the fae. With their strong beliefs in the little people, I wasn't surprised to read that you can find a lot of faerie trees dotted around the Irish countryside. People leave gifts and letters on the bark or branches whilst making a wish. This is such a lovely idea, whether you believe in fairies or not, as we could all do with a little bit of magic in our lives.
Robin's life has been anything but magical; he seems to have been bombarded with one tragedy after another. He is such a sensitive soul and very much on the side of 'flight' when faced with fight or flight events. Robin's constant running away from perceived problems annoyed me a little; I wanted to give him a good talking to but his response to such events is what made him who he is, which is the man that Izzie was meant to be with.
I love how Jane Cable writes such a realistic story; Robin and Izzie's life is not full of hearts and flowers but challenges that they must overcome in order to make a future together. It did feel like everything happened the way it should have, even though both Robin and Izzie have suffered their own individual heartbreaks in the time they were apart.
Aside from the faerie tree itself, there is a theme running through the book of memory. Robin and Izzie have very different memories of their first meeting and it is hard to decide whose is correct; Izzie is very convincing and Robin is too easy to be convinced that his memory is wrong. It is quite thought-provoking to see how two people can remember the same event differently.
Thought-provoking and filled with emotion, The Faerie Tree is a fascinating novel written with warmth and realism.
I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating:
Buy it from Amazon
About the author:
Jane Cable writes romantic fiction with the over-riding theme that
the past is never dead. She published her first two books independently (the
multi award winning The Cheesemaker’s House and The Faerie Tree) and is now
signed by Sapere Books. Two years ago she moved to Cornwall to concentrate on
her writing full time, but struggles a little in such a beautiful location.
Luckily she’s discovered the joys of the plot walk.
Social
Media Links –
Twitter: @JaneCable
Facebook: Jane Cable, Author (https://www.facebook.com/romanticsuspensenovels/ )
Giveaway
Giveaway to Win PB copies of The Faerie Tree and The Cheesemaker’s
House (UK Only)
*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome. Please enter using the
Rafflecopter box below. The winner will be selected at random via
Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or
email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources
reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged
18 or over. Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is
used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the
exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway
organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s
Random Resources will delete the data. I am not responsible for
despatch or delivery of the prize.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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